Rookie Tim Duncan scored 23 points, including a basket with 2:20
to play that gave the San Antonio Spurs the lead for good as
they rallied for a 90-84 victory over the New York Knicks.

David Robinson scored 23 points and Vinny Del Negro added 16 for
San Antonio, which outscored the Knicks 27-15 in the final 12
minutes. The Spurs also took a 27-26 lead in the all-time
series, including a 20-7 advantage at San Antonio.

Patrick Ewing scored 25 points and Allan Houston added 22 for
New York, which fell to 0-5 when held under 90 points. The
Knicks have blown fourth-quarter leads in all six losses this
season.

New York led 69-63 entering the fourth quarter but missed its
first seven shots. The Spurs closed within 69-68 after a
21-footer by Monty Williams before Ewing ended the drought with
a layup to make it 71-68 with 9:16 left.

Duncan forged a 72-72 tie with a 16-foot jumper at the 8:08
mark. Ewing carried the Knicks, scoring all their
fourth-quarter points until a layup by Houston knotted the score
at 82 with 2:52 remaining.

But it was all San Antonio down the stretch. Duncan tipped in
the miss of a shot by Robinson to give the Spurs the lead for
good at 84-82. John Starks missed a jumper before Del Negro
buried a 22-footer with 1:52 left.

Following a miss by Ewing, Robinson fed Del Negro for a layup to
push the lead to six with 1:22 to go. Ewing drew the Knicks
within four on a 12-footer, but Williams made two free throws 10
seconds apart to complete the scoring.

"We played well in spurts but we can play better," said Del Negro.
"We made plays when we had to, we ran better and got them back on
their heels. I'm trying to get back healthy, I wanted to get in
a good flow, so I came out in the second half and was more
impressive. Our backs were against the wall and things turned
around for us."

New York shot 6-of-26 from the field in the fourth quarter.

"There will be some bad shots," said Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy.
"The other shots aren't acceptable. There is certainly an
element of wanting to win so bad and doing it on their own and
sometimes that makes them play selfishly. It's not perplexing,
it's painfully evident when we struggle."

Ewing also grabbed 15 rebounds for the Knicks, who shot just
under 40 percent (32-of-81) overall. New York was 1-of-11 from
three-point range, and Starks had 13 points off the bench.

"We're not playing well right now," said Ewing. "To get where we
want to get, we have to start executing. We threw up a couple of
bad shots and either they (point guards) have to knock the shots
down or drive."

Robinson had 14 rebounds and Duncan 13 for the Spurs, who shot
45 percent (32-of-71) from the field. Williams finished with 10
points and Avery Johnson dished out 11 assists.

The big guys got great rotation," said Robinson. "We scrambled
extremely well and we knew we had to take away some of their
three-point shots. The defensive intensity was outstanding,
the interior defense was great, that's the kind of energy level
we need the rest of the way."